Damian Lillard scored 27 of his season-high 42 points in the second half to lead the Portland Trail Blazers to a 105-95 victory over Dallas on Friday night, sending the Mavericks to their first 0-5 start in franchise history.
Mason Plumlee had 19 points and Al-Farouq Aminu added 12 points and 10 rebounds for Portland.
J.J. Barea scored 23 points and Harrison Barnes had 17 for the Mavericks, who were without Andrew Bogut (personal reasons) for the game and Dirk Nowitzki (sore right Achilles) in the second half.
With backcourt mate C.J. McCollum saddled with foul trouble for most of the game, Lillard had 18 of Portland's 25 points during a 14-minute stretch of the second half.
The Blazers, who shot 3 for 14 on 3-pointers in the first half, started 7 for 8 from beyond the arc to start the third quarter and open a 78-62 lead.
Howver, Portland went 0 for 10 for the rest of the quarter and the Mavericks pulled to 79-76 entering the fourth, playing most of that stretch with Barea and four reserves in the game.
Justin Anderson scored two inside baskets and fired up the crowd with a block of Aminu's layup at the other end.
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After Salah Mejri's dunk closed the gap to one, Lillard scored two quick baskets at the other end, then made a 3 with 8:18 left to put the Blazers up 89-80. The Mavericks got no closer than six the rest of the way.
Portland led 55-52 at the break despite their poor outside shooting. Lillard, who earlier this week said Golden State's defense was "just not the same" without Bogut this year, began exploiting Bogut's absence in the Dallas defense in the second quarter with an attacking style of play.
Lillard scored 10 points in the quarter, all of them a result of drives to the basket that ended in lay-ups or foul shots. Plumlee had 15 points in the half on perfect 5-for-5 performances from the field and the free-throw line.
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Lillard has scored at least 27 points in each of Portland's first six games. ... McCollum played only 24 minutes due to foul trouble and scored nine points, but his driving lay-up with 4:34 to go gave the Blazers a 95-87 lead. It was his only basket after the first quarter. ... Shabazz Napier tied the score at 26-26 after one quarter when he stole the ball from Barea in the front court and made a 32-footer at the buzzer.
Mavericks: Devin Harris has missed all five regular season games after suffering a right big toe sprain in the team's final preseason game. ... The Mavericks scored more points (six) on the fast break in the first quarter than their game average of 4.5, the NBA's lowest.
YOU NEVER KNOW
History has shown the first four games of the season aren't a good predictor of the Mavericks' overall record. Their only other 0-4 start came in 2006-07, when they followed the early losing streak with 12 straight wins en route to a franchise-best 67-15 record. And they went a combined 24-140 over the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons despite winning one of their first four each year.
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: At Memphis on Sunday.
Mavericks: Host Milwaukee on Sunday night.
